


The Kimono

by FanficsbyVe



Series: Return from the Hunter's Dream [3]
Category: Bloodborne (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-22
Updated: 2015-09-22
Packaged: 2018-04-22 21:21:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4850957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanficsbyVe/pseuds/FanficsbyVe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even after being in Yharnam for a while now, the Doll keeps finding unusual things in Byrgenwerth. One-shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Kimono

**The Kimono.**

 

“ _Revelations of Oedon_ , to the library. Tattered clothes, in the trash. Telescope lenses, to the observatory. Tattered clothes, in the trash. More tattered clothes… A gold and ruby ring… Perhaps I should keep it…”

The Doll quietly pocketed the small item and looked at the cluttered room. There were still a lot of items to through in this old dormitory before it would look the slightest bit presentable again. It was stacked with abandoned items of years upon years of scholars and students passing through and she was quite surprised just how carelessly some of them had been with their possessions. Even so, what may have been trash to them was a treasure to her and despite the hard work, she quite enjoyed rummaging through a chamber to see what secrets it held.

Byrgenwerth was full of old secrets. That was something the Doll had learned from the moment she and the good Hunter had taken refuge here. The old college was almost impossibly large, made of large halls and winding corridors that she sometimes believed would shift and turn the moment she looked away. Not that it scared her. She was a Doll that had become flesh, brought forth by a Hunter that was both Man and Great One and then descended with her upon Yharnam. She had seen stranger things in her lifetime than a mere rundown old place of study.

That said, the college was still in a disheveled state for the most part. Since she and her companion were the only residents as of now, it would take a long time to clean all the rooms beyond the immediate area that served as their residence. As such, whenever they had time, they had taken to cleaning out one or two of the areas the best they could. Right now, the Hunter was busy bringing some order to the observatory, while she had opted for one of the dormitories. 

This one was not particularly remarkable. So far, she had mostly found old clothes that no longer had any use besides cleaning rags. While this made cleaning tedious, it also allowed her to move through the hall quite quickly. It suited her. She would much rather be reading in the library than cleaning. She was just about to move to the door again, her arms full with worn cloth to dispose of, when something underneath one of the beds suddenly caught her attention. 

Her curiosity aroused, she dropped the bundle onto the floor and moved back to where the object was. She stooped down besides the bed and took a closer look, her eyes adjusting to the shadows, before she determined it was a crate of some sort. The Doll reached out and curiously pulled it towards her, tilting her head in confusion once it was exposed to light.

The crate was unlike the ones in the docks of Yharnam. The wood, polished and smooth, was a beautiful reddish hue and it gave off a strange but not unpleasant aroma. Strange marks were carved into the sides. Something told her that these were meant to be letters, but even though she had learned how to read by now, she could not understand them and figured these were supposed to express a language not naturally spoken in Yharnam.

Now, the Doll was intrigued. Everything about the crate seemed to indicate that it was not from here. It was strange, exotic and apparently, well-hidden in the dark shadows of the bed. Almost as if the owner wanted it kept to themselves. One could only imagine what its contents were …

That was all the encouragement she needed. With nimble fingers, she undid the simple bolt at the top and took the lid off. She put it beside her on the threadbare carpet and looked inside the crate, only for her pale eyes to go wide.

The first thing she saw was red fabric. The deepest, most vivid red fabric she had ever seen in her life. As if on instinct, she reached out to touch it. A gasp escaped from her lips. It was the softest thing she had ever felt beneath her fingertips. 

She ran her fingers over it a few times, entranced by the feeling, before she could bring herself to raise the next question. Just what was this item? Moving to sit on her knees and clutching the fabric ever so delicately, she raised it out of the crate.

Now, she could see the fabric wasn’t red in its entirety. The lower side was adorned with white and golden flowers. This pattern moved all the way up the sides, before making its way up to the sleeves. It was a garment, she now realized. One unlike anything she had ever seen in Yharnam.

It looked like a robe, somewhat similar to what the scholars in Byrgenwerth used to wear, or a dressing gown like she and the Hunter sometimes wore in private. However, it wasn’t at all like the tattered, dull clothes that littered the rest of the room. This article of clothing was bright and in pristine condition, no doubt due to the many years of being safely kept inside the tight confines of the crate. In fact, the other items at the bottom of the crate, a plainer red robe, a sash and a strange band made of fabric, seemed equally untouched. Once again, the material was the most sinuous thing she had ever felt. In fact, she was certain it must be rather comfortable to wear.

Pointlessly looking around to make sure she was alone, the Doll quickly shed her cloak and outer clothes. She placed them on the nearby bed and proceeded to take all the items out of the crate. She then slipped the plain red robe over her shoulders, putting her arms into the sleeves. She noted with a sense of glee that the garment was rather long. Being an exceptionally tall woman, even dwarfing most men in Yharnam, it was often hard for her to find suitable clothing without commissioning it. The fact that this odd robe seemed to accommodate her stature was a pleasant surprise. 

Though she wasn’t sure whether she was putting it on properly, she then proceeded with the flashier deep red robe. She was just about to mourn the fact that the garments sadly had no buttons when she realized that perhaps the band and sash had a similar purpose to the ties on a dressing gown. Going along that line of reasoning, she proceeded to close the two robes and wrapped the fabric band tightly around her waist. She then tied it with the sash, knotting it on her side, and noted with much relief and satisfaction that the structure held. 

She stood there for a few moments, quietly taking in the feeling of wearing this unusual dressing gown. It felt wonderful, she had to admit. The fabric was light and airy, smooth and pleasant against her skin. Despite the fact that the bottom was less wide than her usual dress, she could walk in it quite well and she didn’t find the unusually long sleeves a bother. The clothing she wore normally felt almost stifling in comparison. It was such an exciting new feeling to wear it that she couldn’t help but wonder how she looked in it. 

Practically feeling butterflies in her stomach at that thought, she skipped over to the nearest mirror at the far end of the dormitory. She approached it cautiously, almost as if it would try and bite her if she showed herself like this. The Doll took a deep breath as she finally stepped in front of it and looked at her own reflection.

Her eyes went wide. The creature the mirror showed almost seemed to come from a different world. The strange dressing gown made her seem even taller than she already was, almost making her seem inhuman. The deep red lend some color to her usually pale face and her silver hair seemed to flow together with the white and gold decoration. She stared at the reflection enraptured, lost to her task and the world around her as she took in this strange new image in all its glory.

“Evetta? Evetta? Evetta, where are you? I made us some afternoon tea. If you’re not done cleaning yet, I can come help you after…” 

The Doll hadn’t even heard the Hunter’s voice in the hallway, much less heard him come into the room. When his voice finally registered to her, he was already there and she nearly jumped when she came face to face with him, a startled squeak slipping past her lips in the process. She could feel heat bite into her cheeks as she saw him stare at her intently with a baffled expression on his face. 

“Where did you get that?”

Even though she knew he hated it, she found herself lowering her head and stammering. “F-forgive me, Good Hunter. I was cleaning here and found this strange dressing gown. I lost track of…”

“It’s a kimono.”

His interruption caught her off guard. Not understanding what he just said, she cocked her head. He smiled.

“A kimono. A Japanese dress. It’s a country in Asia. Men and especially women there wear them. You didn’t tie it correctly though.”

“…Oh.”

That was all she could manage right now. She felt embarrassed. She had known the Hunter for a long time now and should have known he was not one to anger about something trivial. In fact, he seemed to find the situation amusing if anything. Even so, she wished she was just a little more silver-tongued at moments like these. 

Mulling over the awkward situation, she hadn’t even noticed him approaching and yelped when he put his hand on the sash. “I know how to do it. May I?”

Surprised by the offer, she could only nod silently. She didn’t protest as he easily undid the knot in the sash and unwrapped the fabric band. She blushed a little when he readjusted the robes, before placing the band higher up. He then started to wrap the sash around it several times and she noted how he didn’t just tie it shut. Instead, he brought both ends of the sash to her back and started to make a large bow. 

As he worked, she found her voice again and looked over her shoulder. “Good Hunter, how do you know about this…ki-mono?”

He chuckled. “My family was one of rich merchants. My father and uncle were in the family business, hence why I could afford to go to university. They also went to Japan to buy local art like fans and paintings and at one point, my uncle came home with a Japanese wife. Whatever I know, I know from my aunt.”

She nodded. “What did your aunt look like? How do these people from Asia look? Do they look like Eileen?”

“Some do. But the ones in Japan usually don’t. They have darker skin than us but lighter than Eileen’s. They usually have black hair and black eyes and a distinct narrow eye shape. They’re shorter than the people in Yharnam. Quite a lot shorter than you too.”

The teasing tone in that last sentence made her giggle. Even so, she managed to stay perfectly still until he was done tying the sash. He then stepped away for a moment, admiring his work. 

“There, this is how it should look.”

The Doll looked back in the mirror and smiled. She had to admit it looked a lot less messy now. So this was how a lady in faraway Japan would wear this gown, this kimono as they called it. Of course, based on what the good Hunter told her, she looked nothing like such a lady, but it was still nice to experience a bit of foreign culture, however little she could imagine of it. 

She turned back to him. “I should get out of this now and join you. Our tea and food is getting cold.”

She turned her back to him, hoping he would help her undo the sash. The Hunter, however, put a hand on her shoulder and made her face him. He smiled gently at her and shook his head. 

“Keep it on. You look beautiful in it.”

Again, she could feel the heat in her cheeks rising. Even now, she could still not get enough of his compliments. However, just to make sure he wasn’t pulling her leg, she answered playfully.

“As beautiful as a lady of Japan?”

She felt how he placed his hands on her shoulders and stood on his toes. Like many a man she met, he was a few inches shorter than her. Yet unlike those men, he never seemed to mind or even care. She again blushed madly as he pressed a small kiss onto her forehead.

“At least as beautiful.”

He then took her hand in his and gestured to the hallway. “Come on, it’s time for tea. We can finish this room later.”

The Doll couldn’t even think to argue. Wrapping her own fingers around his, she followed him out of the room to have a well-deserved break and celebrate it in her exciting new find of the day. She gingerly let him lead her outside, her own clothes and the mess in the dormitory temporarily forgotten, looking forward to spending time in each other's company with tea, scones and, she hoped, perhaps a few more stories about this mysterious Japan.


End file.
